October 9, 2941 (S.R. 1341) 1. The company departs from Lake-town. (from Karen Wynn Fonstad, The Atlas of Middle-earth)..."...although autumn was now getting far on, and winds were cold, and leaves were falling fast, three large boats left Lake-town, laden with rowers, dwarves, Mr. Baggins, and many provisions. Horses and ponies had been sent round by circuitous paths to meet them at their appointed landing-place. The Master and his councillors bade them farewell from the great steps of the town-hall that went down to the lake. People sang on the quays and out of windows. The white oars dipped and splashed, and off they went north up the lake on the last stage of their long journey. The only person thoroughly unhappy was Bilbo."

October 9, 3018 (S.R. 1418) 1. Glorfindel leaves Rivendell. (from the appendices)..."'Elrond received news that troubled him. Some of my kindred, journeying in your land beyond the Baranduin, learned that things were amiss and sent messages as swiftly as they could. They said that the Nine were abroad, and that you were astray bearing a great burden without guidance, for Gandalf had not returned. There are few even in Rivendell that can ride openly against the nine; but such as there were, Elrond sent out north, west, and south. It was thought that you might turn far aside to avoid pursuit, and become lost in the Wilderness."

2. The Company makes its way through the Wild. (not from the appendices-no text)...The freezing pain in Frodo's shoulder slowly grew and felt as if it was spreading, like roots stretching through soil; but he did not speak of it and sat bowed on the pony's back as the blur of the long days passed.

October 9-10, 3019 (S.R. 1419) 1. Gandalf and the hobbits make their way home from Rivendell. (not from the appendices) ..."...the days went quickly by; for they rode at leisure, and often they lingered in the fair woodlands where the leaves were red and yellow in the autumn sun..."

Yep! While Tolkien doesn't specify the precise date of the departure of the company for the Lonely Mountain, Fonstad's estimate has to be pretty close. It could be off by a day or so, but the guess of October 9 is close enough. "Change is inevitable. Growth is optional." - DRWolf (after John C. Maxwell)

1. Row upstream against current. Camp for the night. (from Karen Wynn Fonstad, The Atlas of Middle-earth)..."In two days going they rowed right up the Long Lake and passed out into the River Running, and now they could all see the Lonely Mountain towering grim and tall before them. The stream was strong and their going slow."

October 10, 3018 (S.R. 1418) 1. Strider presses them on. (not from the appendices)..."Four days passed, without the ground or the scene changing much, except that behind them Weathertop slowly sank, and before them the distant mountains loomed a little nearer. ...Yet since that far cry they had seen and heard no sign that the enemy had marked their flight or followed them. They dreaded the dark hours, and kept watch in pairs by night, expecting at any time to see black shapes stalking in the grey night... ...but they saw nothing, and heard no sound but the sigh of withered leaves and grass. Not once did they feel the sense of present evil that had assailed them before the attack in the dell. It seemed too much to hope that the Riders had already lost their trail again. Perhaps they were waiting to make some ambush in a narrow place?"

Today in Middle-earth October 11, 2941 (S.R. 1341) 1. Third day in boats. Camp on west shore. (from Karen Wynn Fonstad, The Atlas of Middle-earth)..."At the end of the third day, some miles up the river, they drew in to the left or western bank and disembarked. Here they were joined by the horses with other provisions and necessaries and the ponies... ...that had been sent to meet them. They packed what they could on the ponies and the rest was made into a store under a tent, but none of the men of the town would stay with them even for the night so near the shadow of the Mountains. ..."Not... ...until the songs have come true!" said they. It was easier to believe in the Dragon and less easy to believe in Thorin in these wild parts. Indeed their stores had no need of any guard, for all the land was desolate and empty. So their escort left them, making off swiftly down the river... ...although the night was already drawing on. ...They spent a cold and lonely night and their spirits fell."

October 11, 3018 (S.R. 1418) 1. Strider and the hobbits have travelled for five days since their attack at Weathertop. (not from the appendices)..."At the end of the fifth day the ground began once more to rise slowly out of the wide shallow valley into which they had descended. Strider now turned their course again north-eastwards."

2. He (Glorfindel) drives the Riders off the Bridge of Mitheithel. (from the appendices)..."'It was my lot to take the road, and I came to the Bridge of Mitheithel, and left a token there... ...Three of the servants of Sauron were upon the Bridge, but they withdrew and I pursued them westward. I came also upon two others, but they turned away southward. Since then I have searched for your trail.'"

October 11, 1999 (wish it was in the appendices)1. Principal photography begins for The Lord of the Rings in New Zealand a la Peter Jackson. ...*So it begins…*

October 12, 2941 (S.R. 1341) 1. They leave the river and ride to the Lonely Mountain. (from Karen Wynn Fonstad, The Atlas of Middle-earth)..."The next day they set out again. Balin and Bilbo rode behind, each leading another pony heavily laden beside him; the others were... ...picking out a slow road, for there were no paths. They made north-west, slanting away from the River Running, and drawing ever nearer... ...to a great spur of the Mountain that was flung out southwards towards them. ...It was a weary journey, and a quiet and stealthy one. There was no laughter or song or sound of harps... ...the singing of old songs by the lake died away to a plodding gloom. They knew that they were drawing near to the end of their journey, and that it might be a very horrible end. The land about them grew bleak and barren, though once, as Thorin told them, it had been green and fair. There was little grass, and before long there was neither bush nor tree, and only broken and blackened stumps to speak of one long vanished. They were come at the waning of the year... ... ...They made their first camp on the western side of the great southern spur, which ended in a height called Ravenhill."

October 12, 3018 (S.R. 1418) 1. Strider and the hobbits make their way to Rivendell. (not from the appendices)..."I am afraid we must go back to the Road here for a while,' said Strider. 'We have now come to the River Hoarwell... ...It flows down out of the Ettenmoors, the troll-fells north of Rivendell, and joins the Loudwater away in the South. Some call it the Greyflood after that. It is a great water before it finds the Sea. There is no way over it below its sources in the Ettenmoors, except by the Last Bridge on which the Road crosses.' ...'What is that other river we can see far away there?' asked Merry. ...'That is Loudwater, the Bruinen of Rivendell... ...The Road runs along the edge of the hills for many miles from the Bridge to the Ford of Bruinen. But I have not yet thought how we shall cross the water. One river at a time! We shall be fortunate indeed if we do not find the Last Bridge held against us.'"

2. Glorfindel pursues three of the Black Riders then continues his search for the Company. (not from the appendices-no text)...Glorfindel raced behind the specters. Asfaloth's speed could easily have overtaken the enemy as they fled before the force they felt pursuing them, but the Elf sensed the urgency to return to his search for the Company. He felt the distressing call to go back; that time was running out. Asfaloth tossed his head and whinnied in protest as Glorfindel eased back and turned aside, loathe to break from the chase. Slowly he made his way along the road, searching the ground for a sign of Aragorn and his charge.

3. Gandalf makes his way to Rivendell. (not from the appendices-no text)...It was six days since the Black Riders broke off their pursuit of the Wizard. Gandalf made straight for Rivendell.

October 12, 3019 (S.R. 1419) 1. The remaining Fellowship moves on. (not from the appendices-no text)...Gandalf and the hobbits make their way to Bree. King Éomer and King Elessar guide their respective cities and their inhabitants through the aftermath of the War. Legolas and Gimli travel the lands after visiting Fangorn Forest. Saruman is busy remodelling the Shire.

Glorfindel's casual recounting of his tale provides a welcome respite from all the fear hanging over the hobbits and Strider. Alone, outnumbered, he thought nothing of confronting the Black Riders, confident they would flee, and they did. It's like little kids calling their parents into the room to confront the monsters under the bed or in the closet and takes the edge off the great fear.

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2. He (Glorfindel) drives the Riders off the Bridge of Mitheithel. (from the appendices)..."'It was my lot to take the road, and I came to the Bridge of Mitheithel, and left a token there... ...Three of the servants of Sauron were upon the Bridge, but they withdrew and I pursued them westward. I came also upon two others, but they turned away southward. Since then I have searched for your trail.'"

October 13, 2941 (S.R. 1341) 1. Bilbo, Fili, Kili and Balin scout up to River Running and go part way toward the Front Gate. (from Karen Wynn Fonstad, The Atlas of Middle-earth)..."Before setting out to search the western spurs of the Mountain for the hidden door, on which all their hopes rested, Thorin sent out a scouting expedition to spy out the land to the South where the Front Gate stood. For this purpose he chose Balin and Fili and Kili, and with them went Bilbo. They marched under the grey and silent cliffs to the feet of Ravenhill. There the river, after winding a wide loop over the valley of Dale, turned from the Mountain on its road to the Lake, flowing swift and noisily.... ...they could see in the wide valley shadowed by the Mountain's arms the grey ruins of ancient houses, towers, and walls. ..."There lies all that is left of Dale," said Balin. "The mountain's sides were green with woods and all the sheltered valley rich and pleasant in the days when the bells rang in that town." He looked... ...grim as he said this: he had been one of Thorin's companions on the day the Dragon came. ...They did not dare to follow the river much further towards the Gate; but they went on beyond the end of the southern spur, until lying hidden behind a rock they could look out and see the dark cavernous opening in a great cliff wall between the arms of the Mountain. Out of it the waters of the Running River sprang; and out of it too there came a stream and a dark smoke. Nothing moved in the waste, save vapour and the water.... ...The only sound was the sound of the stony water, and every now and again the harsh croak of a bird. Balin shuddered. ..."Let us return!" he said. "We can do no good here! And I don't like these dark birds, they look like spies of evil." ..."The dragon is still alive and in the halls under the Mountain then---or I imagine so from the smoke," said the hobbit. ..."That does not prove it," said Balin, "though I don't doubt you are right. But he might be gone away some time, or he might be lying out on the mountain-side keeping watch, and still I expect smokes and steams would come out of the gates... ...the halls within must be filled with his foul reek." ...With such gloomy thoughts, followed ever by croaking crows above them, they made their weary way back to the camp."

October 13, 3018 (S.R. 1418) 1. Frodo crosses the bridge. (from the appendices)..."...Next day, early in the morning, they came down again to the borders of the Road. Sam and Strider went forward, but they found no sign of any travellers or riders. Here under the shadow of the hills there had been some rain. Strider judged that it had fallen two days before, and had washed away all footprints. No horseman had passed since then... ......They hurried along with all the speed they could make, and after a mile or two they saw the Last Bridge ahead, at the bottom of a short steep slope. They dreaded to see black figures waiting there, but they saw none. Strider made them take cover in a thicket at the side of the Road, while he went forward to explore. ...Before long he came hurrying back. 'I can see no sign of the enemy... ...and I wonder very much what that means. But I have found something very strange.' ...He held out his hand, and showed a single pale-green jewel. 'I found it in the mud in the middle of the Bridge,' he said. 'It is a beryl, an elf-stone. Whether it was set there, or let fall by chance... ...it brings hope to me. I will take it as a sign that we may pass the Bridge; but beyond that I dare not keep to the Road, without some clearer token.' ...At once they went on again... ...Strider turned aside, and soon they were lost in a sombre country of dark trees winding among the feet of sullen hills... ...As they went forward the hills about them steadily rose... ...they caught glimpses of ancient walls of stone, and the ruins of towers: they had an ominous look. Frodo, who was not walking, had time to gaze ahead and to think. He recalled Bilbo's account of his journey and the threatening towers on the hills north of the Road, in the country near the Troll's wood where his first serious adventure had happened. Frodo guessed that they were now in the same region...." 2. Glorfindel backtracks from his pursuit of the Black Riders searching for the Company. (not from the appendices-no text)3. Gandalf makes his way to Rivendell. (not from the appendices-no text)

October 13, 3019 (S.R. 1419) 1. Gandalf and the hobbits make their way to Bree. (not from the appendices-no text)... Gandalf was enjoying his time with the hobbits. He sat quietly in the evening's camp and delighted in the humorous banter between Merry and Pippin as they debated whatever topic seemed to arise. He marvelled at Sam's intuitive care for preparing the camp and meal while keeping a subtle eye on Frodo who sat wrapped in a blanket quietly watching the campfire. Softly blown smoke rings rode the night air as he pondered Sam's devotion to Frodo. He shook his head to himself. ..."Their return to the Shire will decide much. Who can know what will follow?"

TIME (Today in Middle-earth) & Google Calendar and some BS (Book Spoiler)

...I started posting TIME in March, 2002. As I've read The Lord of the Rings since 1971, I had always wondered what was going on with the Fellowship when they split apart. I started keeping a file on what was happening to each them on any given day based on the timeline in APPENDIX B: THE TALE OF YEARS (CHRONOLOGY OF THE WESTLANDS): Third Age (Tolkien, 1965 Ballantine, pgs. 459-472 RotK) in The Return of the King.

...During the final days of the War of the Ring, I got the brainy idea to share my madness and began posting them on TORn's Main Discussion Board; hence, "Today in Middle-earth" (TIME). Be aware, though....My TIME posts are not meant to be a scholarly study. It's just me having a bit of fun with the stories. So they are quite flawed, although I do try very hard to be accurate and complete. Thankfully, there are TORn members who are more well-versed in these timelines and have been very helpful in working out challenging dates of events.

...If the appendix lists something on any given day and/or year, I post that date and the text associated with it. If there are multiple events or years for a given date in the appendix (in 3018, 3019, etc.), I bring all of the texts together and post them with the date, the excerpts from the book, and a note (from the appendices). If there's an entry that says (not from the appendices) or (determined from text), that means the event was not in the Appendix B list of dates but is a logical/obvious continuation of the book storyline. It may also be from other places in the appendices, The Hobbit or The Silmarillion. If it says (not from the appendices-no text) but there's something there, it's my fanfic... just a smidge. Sometimes they're posted as drabbles (100 words exactly in the body of the text).

... These dates are NOT according to the Shire calendar. That calendar has 30 days in each month (including February), so that results in a 10-day difference between our Gregorian calendar and the Shire calendar. I am no good at conversions, so I work with our modern/Gregorian calendar, which I personally find comforting and easier to follow throughout the story.

...In 2006, I began to add entries from The Hobbit. Dates/events of Bilbo's Quest to the Lonely Mountain are not a part of APPENDIX B, so I follow the mileage charts and references from Karen Wynn Fonstad's The Atlas of Middle-earth that we use for TORn's "Walk to Rivendell". However, these mileage charts end at the Lonely Mountain; so I have completed my own charts following Bilbo, Gandalf and Beorn on their journey back home (fanfic). These can also be found in "The Walk to Rivendell" weekly posts.

...I clump my posts together in one thread, adding one day after another. Each is noted with a little buggy icon so they're easy to find. You'll notice they're chopped up a bit with these ellipsis marks "... ..." That's to honour copyright laws and not have too much of the Professor's text displayed without breaks. I'm not posting the books... just snippets of them to follow the timeline of Bilbo's and the Fellowship's Quests.

...Ten years after starting my posts (March 10, 2012), I created a TIME Calendar with links to the most current posts. There's a permanent link of the monthly Google calendar at the bottom of my posts. TIME Google Calendar

Then there's some BS:...On days when there is no activity by the Fellowship or Bilbo, I post some BS (Book Spoilers) of random snippets from The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, or The Silmarillion... for a moment of Tolkien-zen. The result is an almost daily offering from the world of J.R.R. Tolkien.

Again, these posts are NOT part of a scholarly study. They are a part of my own personal journey with J.R.R. Tolkien who has had a profound impact on me since I discovered The Lord of the Rings in 1971.

October 14, 2941 (S.R. 1341) 1. The camp is moved to the western valley. (from Karen Wynn Fonstad, The Atlas of Middle-earth)..."Now strange to say Mr. Baggins had more [spirit] than the others. He would often borrow Thorin's map and gaze at it, pondering over the runes and the message of the moon-letters Elrond had read. It was he that made the dwarves begin the dangerous search on the western slopes for the secret door. They moved their camp then to a long valley... ...and walled with lower spurs of the Mountain. Two of these here thrust forward west from the main mass in long steep-sided ridges that fell ever downwards towards the plain. On this western side there were fewer signs of the dragon's marauding feet, and there was some grass for their ponies."

October 14, 3018 (S.R. 1418) 1. Strider and the hobbits continue through the wild of the Trollshaws Forest. (not from the appendices)..."'Who lives in this land?' Frodo asked. 'And who built these towers? Is this troll-country?' ...'No!' said Strider. 'Trolls do not build. No one lives in this land. Men once dwelt here, ages ago; but none remain now. They became an evil people, as legends tell, for they fell under the shadow of Angmar. But all were destroyed in the war that brought the North Kingdom to its end... ...though a shadow still lies on the land.' ...'Where did you learn such tales, if all the land is empty and forgetful?' asked Peregrin. 'The birds and beasts do not tell tales of that sort.' ...'The heirs of Elendil do not forget all things past,' said Strider; 'and many more things than I can tell are remembered in Rivendell.' ...'Have you often been to Rivendell?' asked Frodo. ...'I have,' said Strider. 'I dwelt there once, and still I return when I may. There my heart is; but it is not my fate to sit in peace, even in the fair house of Elrond.'"

October 15, 3018 (S.R. 1418) 1. Strider and the Hobbits struggle on through the Wild. (not from the appendices)..."They had been two days in this country (near the Troll's woods) when the weather turned wet. The wind began to blow steadily out of the West and pour the water of the distant seas on the dark heads of the hills in fine drenching rain. By nightfall they were all soaked, and their camp was cheerless, for they could not get any fire to burn."

Again, these posts are NOT part of a scholarly study. They are a part of my own personal journey with J.R.R. Tolkien who has had a profound impact on me since I discovered The Lord of the Rings in 1971.

And here I was planning on shamelessly plagiarizing you and your scholarly study so I could get a PhD on the cheap. Dang, Gramma, you let me down. How could you?

One of those times when The West doesn't seem so friendly
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..."They had been two days in this country (near the Troll's woods) when the weather turned wet. The wind began to blow steadily out of the West and pour the water of the distant seas on the dark heads of the hills in fine drenching rain. By nightfall they were all soaked, and their camp was cheerless, for they could not get any fire to burn."

Winds from the West dispersed Sauron's smog over Gondor and the vestiges of Saruman's ghost. But in this case, they seem rather unfriendly to the good guys. I don't think I'd read too much into it, though. Bad weather has to come from one direction or another.

October 16, 3018 (S.R. 1418) 1. Strider and the hobbits make their way through the wild. (not from the appendices)..."...the hills rose still higher and steeper before them, and they were forced to turn away northwards out of their course. Strider seemed to be getting anxious: they were nearly ten days out from Weathertop, and their stock of provisions was beginning to run low. It went on raining. ...That night they camped on a stony shelf with a rockwall behind them, in which there was a shallow cave... ...Frodo was restless. The cold and wet had made his wound more painful than ever, and the ache and sense of deadly chill took away all sleep. He lay tossing and turning and listening fearfully to the stealthy night-noises... ...He felt that black shapes were advancing to smother him; but when he sat up he saw nothing but the back of Strider sitting hunched up, smoking his pipe, and watching. He lay down again and passed into an uneasy dream, in which he walked on the grass in his garden in the Shire, but it seemed faint and dim, less clear than the tall black shadows that stood looking over the hedge."

2. Glorfindel marks where Strider and the hobbits returned to the road and made for the bridge. (not from the appendices)..."...I have searched for your trail... ...I found it, and followed it over the Bridge..."

But I'm struck by the express description of a "fine drenching rain". By "fine" I'm thinking of almost a raining mist that can get into everything. I love the description of this rain and how it comes from the seas to the hills. :D Totally Tolkien!!!

came from the west, too. And she sang a song of (water from a spring to the sea. Now the sea is returning some on our travellers.

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Water dripped down from the thatched eaves above. Before they had finished breakfast the clouds had joined into an unbroken roof, and a straight grey rain came softly and steadily down. Behind its deep curtain the Forest was completely veiled.

As they looked out of the window there came falling gently as if it was flowing down the rain out of the sky, the clear voice of Goldberry singing up above them. They could hear few words, but it seemed plain to them that the song was a rain-song, as sweet as showers on dry hills, that told the tale of a river from the spring in the highlands to the Sea far below. ....

The upper wind settled in the West and deeper and wetter clouds rolled up to spill their laden rain on the bare heads of the Downs. Nothing could be seen all round the house but falling water. Frodo stood near the open door and watched the white chalky path turn into a little river of milk and go bubbling away down into the valley. Tom Bombadil came trotting round the corner of the house, waving his arms as if he was warding off the rain--and indeed when he sprang over the threshold he seemed quite dry, except for his boots. ....

'This is Goldberry’s washing day,' he said, ‘and her autumn-cleaning. Too wet for hobbit-folk--let them rest while they are able! It's a good day for long tales, for questions and for answers, so Tom will start the talking.'

And when the rain stops:

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'The rain has ended,' [Goldberry] said; 'and new waters are running downhill, under the stars. Let us now laugh and be glad!'.

The waters run from spring to sea to sky to new streams and back again to the sea, in an endless cycle.

Of course there's a large difference between how it feels when rain is falling on the roof while you're tucked tucked up cozily in a snug house, watching the fire and listening to stories, as opposed to out exposed to the elements! Unless you're Tom Bombadil and can ward off the rain at will. The Passing of Mistress RoseMy historical novels

Do we find happiness so often that we should turn it off the box when it happens to sit there?

October 17, 2941 (S.R. 1341) 1. The Company searches for the Hidden Door. (determined from text – referencing Karen Wynn Fonstad, The Atlas of Middle-earth)..."...day by day they toiled in parties searching for paths of the mountain-side, if the map was true, somewhere high above the cliff at the valley's head must stand the secret door. Day by day they came back to their camp without success."

So well said, Kimi :) I think Tolkien loved the cleansing virtue and power of rain. It appears during so many transitions. Here in the House of Bombadil, I think the rain held long enough to keep the hobbits there until they learned all they needed to from Tom (and Goldberry) to survive "out there". As soon as they were schooled... the rain stopped.